European wave energy project highlights role of Brand Innovation in its global communications

Co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK, the €19.6 million WEDUSEA project is expected to be a catalyst for the industrialisation of wave energy in Europe and around the world. Led by OceanEnergy, which is based in Ireland, WEDUSEA is a unique collaboration between 14 partners spanning industry and academia from across Ireland, the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

Prof Tony Lewis, Chief Technology Officer at OceanEnergy, says: “We believe that WEDUSEA will be transformational for the wave energy industry. WEDUSEA will demonstrate that wave technology is on a cost reduction trajectory and will thus be a stepping stone to larger commercial array scale up and further industrialisation. We predict that the natural energy of the world’s oceans will one day supply much of the grid.”

In October 2022, Brand Innovation was appointed to handle the brand development, website content, communications and PR for the WEDUSEA project.

The awareness-building campaign created by Brand Innovation has been highly successful with media coverage achieved in titles based in 22 countries around the world. These include World Energy (China), Renewable Energy Magazine (Spain), Business Insider (USA), Energia (Italy), Infomarine (Greece), Offshore Energy (Netherlands) and Maritime Economy (India).

An article published this week by WEDUSEA partner University of Exeter highlights the vital role of communications within Horizon Europe projects and how Brand Innovation is helping WEDUSEA to achieve its ambitious objectives.

Prof Lars Johanning of University of Exeter says “We work with a specialist marketing and PR agency, Brand Innovation, based in Cornwall UK, which have in-depth experience in the marine technology sector. They have strong contacts with the international trade media, as shown by the success of the WEDUSEA launch press release. This received a huge amount of global media interest, with over 100 pieces of editorial coverage generated worldwide, spanning the USA, Europe, China and more.”

Further information about WEDUSEA can be found here and you can read the University of Exeter article here.